Coffee Shop
by radcliffe bass
Summary: AU. Duo and Quatre meet to resolve issues that started six years ago.


_A/N : My first attempt making a fanfic for the Gundam Wing universe though this is the first mecha anime I think I got hooked on. Pardon if the characters are OOC because the last time I watched the series was around 10 years ago lol! For those who had me on alert for my KKM story, I need to get this plot out of my system first before I can continue Chapter 7 so really really sorry if you have to wait for the update. _

_My grammar sucks so please bear with me if there are run-ons, spelling or grammar mistakes (I edited it twice already but i'm no English genius lol!)._

_As always, reviews, comments and concrit are welcome and appreciated._

**Standard Disclaimer Applies.**

_Happy Reading._

* * *

**Coffee Shop**

_Radcliffe Bass_

* * *

The mixed smell of coffee and baked bread wafted through the small cafe as soft lounge music filled the air. Pale delicate fingers lazily drummed on a corner table as a pair teal eyes belonging to a handsome blond man watched the people inside the cafe with mild interest. Slowly, the fingers stopped their movements as it moved to hold a cup of fresh brewed coffee, holding it up to meet pink lips that sipped gently from the cup. A soft smile formed on the owner's lips as he deemed the bittersweet treat at par with his taste. He placed the cup back in its saucer as he discreetly glanced at his wristwatch.

Quatre Winner chuckled as the watch's hands read 9:30 AM; an hour earlier than the appointed time. He had always been punctual but the time allowance he gave for this appointment is way too much for patience. But Quatre had always been a patient man, it was one of the virtues he prided himself on and one that had brought him success and on some occasion's failure; and today was no exception. He needed this moment to compose himself as he still cannot for the life of him figure out why he agreed to meet with the one person he seemed to have neglected for the last six years. Not that the other person made any effort to communicate with him, if truth be told, both of them seemed to have conveniently forgotten that the other existed. However, there weren't really any grudges or hard feelings when they parted; they just seemed to have drifted away from each other mutually that's why he never expected that they will be having this meeting after such a long time.

Although the call was not unwelcome, it was still a shock for the young billionaire when he first heard Duo Maxwell's cheery voice on the other end of the line asking him if he will be free to meet him in all places, on this coffee shop where they used to hang out when they were still in high school. It struck him as weird and awkward at first but the underlying urgency on his friend's tone made him agree, to Duo's delight and to his secretary, Tracy's irritation as the poor girl was left with the task of clearing two day's worth of his meetings and schedules to accommodate the flights accompanying the personal errand. It took an hour of lecture on responsibility and a bribe of a mountain load of souvenirs before Quatre was let off the hook for the meantime. He smirked as he remembered the way he appealed to his secretary's conscience on the relevance and importance of the meeting on his and Duo's lives.

Quatre smiled as he remembered the braided man named Duo Maxwell, his childhood best friend whose violet eyes always twinkled with mischief. They grew up together as his father always brought him to the orphanage where Duo lived. He was also his former schoolmate in the private school where Duo was awarded a scholarship by his family. He was also his partner in crime, whenever he wanted to escape from the stifling elite life he was forced to endure because of his family's social standing. The brother he never had, a breath of fresh air from his 29 sisters. He cannot deny that Duo is an important part of his life; until the day when they unwittingly broke their bond and started to trek along the paths destiny had for them.

This thought brought the young businessman back to the matter he had on hand. He does not for the life of him cannot understand what he is doing in this place especially since the place holds a lot of memories for him. Much more, he cannot understand why Duo wanted for them to meet at the one place where the violet-eyed man had his heart first broken. The braided man never struck Quatre as having any inclination to being a masochist but six years is long enough to change a person, he should know. He spent the last six years looking back at that particular event in his life when his friend made him realize that a man can look at another man with love that do not resemble anything near platonic and rejected that offer from his braided friend as he was still confused on the situation. He had spent the last few years asking the question 'what if?' and sometimes finding himself utter 'if only'. It was frustrating having these feelings of uncertainty and when he finally had come to terms with his feelings; they already drifted apart, lost in the intricate path designs of their fates.

Therefore this fateful meeting although expected, is taking a toll on the young man's psyche. He is a mass of nervous jitters, proof of which is the dark bittersweet liquid in front of him. He sighed as he relaxed a little, whatever the reason is for this meeting, he's ready to accept whatever Duo had in store for him. A young waitress broke Quatre out of his reveries as she offered to refill the empty coffee cup. He nodded as she started to refill the cup while the chimes on the doorway jiggled to indicate a new customer entering the cafe. She smiled at him as she excused herself and went to greet the newcomer. Quatre nodded as he took the steaming cup of coffee in his hands and savoured the relaxing aroma that the drink offered. He slowly lifted his eyes from the cup and gazed towards the entrance of the cafe as the chimes jiggled one more time. The cup of coffee touched the saucer a little too fast as his hands quivered while his heart seemed to stop as his teal eyes met the expressive violet eyes of the newcomer.

* * *

Duo's breathing hitched a notch when he saw Quatre from their favorite corner booth in the cafe. A myriad of emotions rushed through the braided young man's heart as his violet eyes met the blond's teal orbs. The blond's eyes had always been his weakness; he remembered how he had spent countless hours in the past staring at those beautiful teal orbs. A small smile graced the blond's lips as he nodded at him as if to acknowledge his presence. He returned the smile as he willed his body to take the first painful step towards his friend's direction.

He felt himself smirk as he realized how his current situation replicated a scene from a cheesy romantic movie he had laughed at a week ago. Somehow he began to understand how the hero felt when he took the long short walk towards the heroine as he felt emotions he had shoved within the deepest recesses of his heart threatened to burst out of his soul. He took a deep breath as he tried to calm his nerves as he moved closer to the booth. Funny how this meeting reminded him so much of that movie, the setting, the dilemma and the rationale behind the situation are eerily familiar. The only difference is that they are both guys and in the back of his mind, he knew their 'happily ever after' would be far from how the movie ended.

After what seemed like an eternity, Duo finally reached the booth, Quatre gestured towards the seat in front of him to which the braided boy slowly sat on. Silence reigned between the two friends after the waitress asked the violet eyed man for his order and refilled Quatre's half-empty coffee cup. Duo let his eyes take in his surroundings, a small smile formed on his lips as he noted the changes in the cafe while reminiscing the past. Quatre sipped his drink and studied his friend through hooded eyes. He smiled as he observed the play of emotions running through his friend's expressive face. He felt a little nostalgic as he read emotions like joy, giddiness and something akin to pain danced on his friend's beautiful violet eyes.

"Like what you see," Duo joked which forced the blond to look up and meet his friend's gaze. He slowly placed the cup back in the saucer before he answered, "Sort of."

"Just sort of?" Duo asked back, "Come on Cat, feed my ego, I've been deprived for six years."

Quatre laughed as Duo attempted to look smug and intimidating. Duo's ability to lighten the atmosphere never failed to amuse him and for the moment he is thankful for this gift. He smiled at his friend once his laughter subsided to which the braided man returned the gesture. The blond froze for a moment as Duo's smile made him realize how soft the braided man's lips looked from his position. _'I wonder how those lips would feel pressed against mine,'_ Quatre thought unconsciously. A blush crept on his face as he realized the unbidden thoughts running through his head; he shook his head as if to erase those thoughts and asked, "So what have you been up to these past few years Duo?"

Duo chuckled, "Well, you know what they say about me, I'm a walking time bomb."

Quatre laughed, "Yeah, I remember how you always managed to end up in detention with your antics." Duo smiled as he talked and rambled on how his life had been during the years they were apart, making the blond laugh at funny anecdotes and putting in his two cents whenever Duo asked questions about him as well. They reminisced the past for the next two hours as the awkwardness melted away and they felt like they were teenagers once more until they dabbled on an issue which reminded both parties of the reason for their little reunion. The awkward silence fell among the two men once more until Duo spoke, "This place holds a lot of memories for me, this is one of my favorite place."

"I know."

"Do you really?" Duo snorted, Quatre flinched at the hint of sarcasm in his friend's voice. "Well maybe you do," Duo said softly when he saw the blond flinch; his expression softened and became a little serious. "But I bet you do not know which memory I love the most about this place." Quatre did not answer, he had a pretty good idea what his friend was talking about but decided to let Duo to voice out his thoughts.

Duo took Quatre's silence as a cue to open up an unresolved issue that they never got a closure on, the main reason why he had asked for this meeting. "The memory I loved the most about this place was during our graduation, when I met you here and confessed my feelings regardless of how inappropriate it may seem."

"Duo..." Quatre sighed as he placed his hand on top of Duo's. The braided boy gave him a bitter smile, "It was one of the best days of my life, unfortunately, it was also one of the worst." The blond bowed his head in shame as he understood what his friend meant. He sighed as he remembered how he rejected his friend's confession, giving the excuse of needing to find their place in the world first before dabbling on matters of the heart. He had been so afraid that his friend would get angry then but Duo just smiled and accepted his answer saying that he understood. After that, Duo left for California to study for college while he went to New York for his business degree. They still kept their communication lines open but when Duo stopped taking his calls, Quatre thought it was due to their new lifestyles. He had engrossed himself on his studies and did not make any extra effort to know of the other's wellbeing, thinking that both of them needed their personal space and ignoring the guilt the kept on nagging on his heart, knowing full well that the rift between them is his own fault.

"I'm sorry," Quatre whispered. "What are you apologizing for? I do not blame you," Duo said as he reached out to the blond, placing his forefinger under Quatre's chin, forcing him to look him in the eye. The blond gasped when he saw the angry violet eyes looking back at him with such intensity, he tried to speak and defend himself but his friend beat him to it. "No I take it back, I do blame you!" Duo exclaimed, not bothering to hide the anger and pain in his voice, his fingers unconsciously tightened their hold on Quatre's chin.

Quatre cringed at the pain, both from Duo's hold and voice. He closed his eyes as he tried to calm his nerves. _'This is not happening!'_ he thought to himself. _'We're supposed to make up, not ram down each other's throat!'_

He opened his eyes, fear evident in his teal orbs. "Duo…" he said softly as he gently coaxed Duo's hand which held his chin to let go. The braided man obliged when he saw the fear reflected in those teal eyes he spent countless evenings seeing in his sleep. Quatre let out a sigh after Duo let him go, "What happened to us?"

Duo raised an eyebrow in question, "I'd like to know that as well, what happened to us?"

"I…" Quatre started but stopped. What is he supposed to say? I'm sorry, kiss me and let's live happily ever after? If only it was that easy, he would have done it a while ago. _'Damn! I'm supposed to be ready to accept his love, but this is nowhere near what I expected!'_ the blond thought helplessly.

Violet eyes watched the blond man's gestures like a hawk. He knew that the blond is struggling with his emotions. If he had let his emotions get the better of him, Duo would leave the blond at this state and let him live with the guilt and pain he made him suffer for the last few years. But he did not come here for revenge…he came here to end this pain…for closure.

Gathering his resolve, his hand took an envelope from his jeans' back pocket and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry Cat," he apologized; the blond turned his gaze towards him and tried to speak but the look he gave made the blond shut up. Duo smiled to ease the tension, "It takes two to tango Cat, I am at fault as much as you are. I just wished we did this earlier." The blond remained silent as if urging him to talk more which he did as he slid the envelope towards his friend. Quatre raised an eyebrow in confusion but accepted the envelope nonetheless while Duo shrugged before he spoke once more, "I am never good with words, I don't lie and you know that, but I feel that if I continue, we'll end up hurting each other like earlier. I've had enough of that."

"I understand," Quatre replied and smiled at Duo sincerely, "some things are better left alone."

Duo nodded, "I know this doesn't make sense but I really wanted to see you to tell you this personally. Despite everything, I still want to be your friend."

Quatre smiled, "We never stopped being friends, and you'll always be my best friend."

Duo nodded as he stole a glance at the wall clock behind Quatre. "Please do not open this until I leave," he said referring to the envelope, he then stood up and left some money on the table, the blond raised an eyebrow in question. Duo laughed, "My treat. I guess I better go now."

"Yes, next time it'll be my treat okay?"

"Whatever you say Cat," he replied then looked at his friend's teal eyes and said, "Take care Cat." He looked at his friend's face one last time and turned to leave. He had just taken two steps when he felt a hand grab his coat and turned him around. He gasped in surprise as he found himself in Quatre's arms, his lips pressed against the blond's soft pink lips. He tried to break the kiss but felt a hand on his nape restrain his movements as the blond deepened their lips' contact. Duo felt his resistance weaken and leaned into the warmth of Quatre's embrace and lost himself into the kiss, as he poured out years of pain and longing into that bittersweet contact. Just when he thought he couldn't get enough, the blond pulled back and whispered, "Until I see you again Duo."

The familiar strains of a popular song filled the cafe; the lyrics seemed to taunt the braided man as he made his way out of the café, still dazed from the businessman's unexpected move.

_We both know that we shouldn't be here_

_This is wrong; and baby it's killing me_

_It's killing you but both of us trying to be strong_

_I got somewhere else to be, promises to keep_

_Someone else who loves me and trusts me fast asleep_

_I made up my mind, there is no turning back_

_She's been good to me and she deserves better than that  
_

It took all of Duo's strength not to look back as he dragged himself out of the cafe. He took a deep breath when he was finally out of the establishment and made his way towards a black SUV, where a tall, lanky and uni-banged man stood outside the vehicle, leaning on the door of the passenger seat. He continued walking until he was in front of the said person. "Trowa..." he began but stopped when he felt himself being enveloped in Trowa's embrace. He returned the embrace as Trowa drew small circles on his back coaxing him to relax, "Shhh... I know, I am right here, I understand."

Duo smiled as he heard the words, _'Thank you Quatre, I finally found where I truly belong.'_

* * *

_  
I know that we'll meet again  
Fate has a place and time  
So you can get on with your life  
I've got to be cruel to be kind_

Quatre watched Duo's retreating figure leave the café while the lyrics of the song taunted his head mercilessly. He had half a mind lashing at the waitress or manager for playing stupid songs in the café but decided against it as there is no use venting his frustration on innocent people. His face remained passive as he continued to stare at the café's entrance. Slowly his hands tore the sides of the envelope Duo left and took out the letter inside and read.

___  
Cat,_

___I've never been good with words so I'm really sorry you have to read this. I know I'm lame and such but I'm not exactly blessed with oratorical skills like you. Bet that made you smile. Anyway Cat, I'm really glad that you agreed to meet with me. This has long been overdue and we really need to give each other the closure we both so desperately need to move on._

___I am rambling aren't I? See, even in a letter I'm not really good with words. So how do I start? Oh yeah._

___I love you, I really do. It really hurt when you rejected me, but I needed to smile and accept it because I don't want to lose you. But it hurt a lot, and the pain never stopped even after we parted ways. Do you know how many days I spent crying myself to sleep just to forget the pain? I lost count so don't even try to guess. But that's all in the past now, no matter how much I wanted to go back in time and force you to love me I can't so I simply have to bear with it._

___I still love you but I cannot force us to pick up where we left off. I have already found someone who can love me the way that I love you, and I don't regret it. He made the pain disappear and I will never exchange him for anything in this world. I guess my only regret is that I let my silly pride get in the way of our friendship. Don't get me wrong though, I never regretted loving you, I just wish I made more effort in saving our friendship. But there's no use crying over spilled milk, past is past, I'm just happy we can still save some of the puzzle pieces. _

___I have found my niche in this world Cat and as much as I wanted it to be with you, unfortunately it simply cannot be as I have already found someone to share that little alcove with and I have you to thank for that. _

___Thank you Cat, for the friendship and love, I have moved on and I sincerely wish you can also find that special someone who will make that great slot you have made in this world worth all the pain, work and tears you have been through. If you haven't found that person yet, give me a ring and I'll gladly help you in your quest._

___Until we meet again,_

___Duo_

Quatre folded the letter and placed it back in the envelope. He picked up his mobile phone and dialled a number. After six rings the voice mail picked up, he sighed as he left a message. He motioned for the bill and waited as the waitress processed his request. He paid for their orders, adding a 10 bill on Duo's money; tore the envelope and its contents into pieces and left the café. He was walking towards his rented car when he saw two people caught in a tight embrace in front of a black SUV. He felt his heart constrict in pain as he recognized one of them as Duo. He quickly rushed to his car, slammed the door shut and felt the tears flow down his face. He felt weak and stupid for crying but he can't stop.

Cliché as it may sound, he had his chance, Duo had moved on and though it kills him to admit, he'll never be more than a friend.

___It's the hardest thing I'll ever had to do  
To turn around and walk away  
Pretending I don't love you_

* * *


End file.
